Everyone can remember that before adolescence you had a dream of what you wanted to become when “you grow up.”

Some wanted to be lawyers, police officers, underwater basket weaving technicians, and yes even a fireman.

What is amazing; is to see someone actually follow those dreams and the steps that it takes to reach his or her goal.

The problem is that so many people waste their lives by waiting for their dreams to come true by some magic wand or even a talking toad that only if they kissed it, he would turn into a prince. The old saying that you will never win the lottery if you do not buy a ticket applies.

Well, Dr. Lonnie Felton has proved that if you take the bull by the horns and hang on for the ride then you can get to where you are going.

He has shot for the stars and he is within reach of them.

How many of us can say that when I was a child I wanted to be what you are today?

Felton was quoted in Sunday’s issue of the STJ saying that “even as a child, I knew that medicine was something that I wanted to do.”

He has fulfilled this by dedicating years of his life to his education, embracing what he has learned and opening his first practice here in Selma where it all started.

Felton’s journey was not one of pure luck or just being in the right place at the right time. It took hard work and dedication that many of us have forgotten about or maybe never found. For Felton, procrastination could not hinder or deter his destiny. We constantly hear teen-agers complaining of how tough the roads to success are.

Yet many of those same teen-agers have not even tested them to see exactly how many bumps are in the road.

We must remind them

that everything that they want is within their grasp, all they need to do is reach out and take hold.

We commend Dr. Felton for not only setting an example to our children but also for reminding us

that Selma and Dallas County has many things to offer.

You are a success story and we hope that others will follow in your path.